Piano.



No. 876,535. PATENTED JAN.14, 1908. R. PRMSDORF.

PIANO. APPLICATION FILED MAR. 26, 1907.

@7,1 I @ya UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT FROMSDORI" OF IETF/11G, GERMANY, ASSIGNOR TO-LUDWIG HUPFELD,

AlllENGESELLSCHAFT,

l OF LEIPZIG, GERMANY.

PIANO.

Specification oi Letters Patent.V

Patented Jan. 3.4, l1908.

Applicatien'iled March 26,1907. Serial N0. 364.573-

L'l'o all whom it 'may concern:

Be it known that l, ltonrm'r Fansnoiw, a subject o-i thelingof Saxony,residing at Leipzig, Saxony, German llniipire, have invented certain newand useful .Improvements in Pianos, ol which the\ following is a the waywhen thel piano is to be played by hand. T he ordinary appearance ot thep1- ano, moreover, should. not be altered by the presence of the variouslevers, or the latter should be capable of being brought entirely out ofview for manual play on the key board. According to my invention lnleetthese rerplirements by providingl a board for the operating levers atthe lront ol" the piano, in such manner that the lever ends can eitherbe brought before the keyboard or below the same, as may be desired. Forthis purpose the lever board may, for instance, be hinged below thekeyboard, so that it may be turned back out of the way. Or it may bearranged to slide lorward .and backward under the keyboard. Or itmayhavo both a turning and sliding motion, `so that the iront of theboard may be 'lirst depressed and then pushed back under the keyboard.'Or the board may' have a hinged iront piece, capable of being turneddown, in order to admit of the board being shoved below the keyboard. y

My invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in whichFigures 1 and 2 are cross sectional Views showing a portion ot a pianolitted with a hinged board for the levers..A Fig. 3 is a plan.

of Fig. 1, with keyboard removed. Fig. 4 is a cross sectional viewillustrating a niodilication in which the lever board has a slidingmotion. Fig. 5 is a like 'View illustrating a V inodiiied constructionin which the lever board can be depressed belore being pushed back. Fig.is alike view illustratii'ig a modification in which the sliding leverboard has a hinged iront.

Referring more particularly to Figs. 1-3, A is the keyboard of the pianoand'B is the lever board, hinged below to the keyboard in i suchmanner'that it oanbe brought into the full-line position in iront of thekeyboard when required for use and can be iixedin this position bywell-known means. When not inpuse, it can 4be turned back into thedotted-line position, so as not to obstruct the performer. l

The board B carries all the operating levers. u., in the particular formof construction which is illustrated a pedal lever C, an eX- shown.Naturally there may be vany desired number of such levers. The motion ofthe free ends of these levers can be transmitted to the desired parts ofthe playing mechanism by any suitable means, whether mechanical,electrical or pneumatic. In the apparatus shown the transmission isniecnanical for the two operating leversD and E and pneumatic for thepedal lever C (FigZ).

ln order, when the transmission is 1neturned down, the levers D and E.are jointed at The `remt may be of any suitabledescription, such as aknuckle `ioint, as shown,

like

provided for the pedal lever (F ig. 2) the latter is held in its endposition by means of a spring, its :valve head F bearing against themouth of the air duct H, which 'may be run to the pedal mechanism in anydesired Inanner. On depression of the pedal lever C against the actionof its spring, the valve head F will also be depressed and the air ductll opened. i

Referring now to the modification shown hinged, slides on guides -Ibelow the key board A. The levers D must naturally bev capable ol beingshortened and lengthened. This may be done .by constructing themteleseopical ly, the front portion li sliding in a tubular rear portionM. The two parts may be connected by a pin and slot joint ln order thatthe sliding of the board niay not be obstructed the outer extremity ofthe lever D is jointed to the part L at K, so that it may be turned downinto a groove provided in the board B.

yin the modiiication illustrated in Fig. 5, the riont of the slidinglever board B lies llush with the keyboard A. To admit of pressionylever l) `and a tempo lever E arev W'ithneumatic transmissionv such asis its being slid inward, the board B must-be ehanical, to admit of thelever board being or a ball lioint or other universal joint or the inFig. 4, the lever board B instead of being tion by meansso arrangedthatdts front. can be depressed.

his may be done by arranging the board to bear against' the bottom ofthe keyboard A andby employing a slotted guide piece J to receive aguide pin. The board B is maintained in the normal elevated posiof aweight, spring, Ior the like. In other respects the arrangementresembles that shown in Fig. 4. After thefront of the board hasbeendepressedto bring it below the level ofthe keyboard A, it can bepushed back into the4 dotted-line position.l v A Fig. 6 shows amodification in which the sliding boardB has a hinged extension S, whichcan be turned down into the dottedline position and the board then slidback. on its guide-illets'I. The outerends yof the operating levers Dmust `in 'this con'- struction necessarily from the body of the lever.done. by jointing the lever end piece O, into which there takes end P oftheportion L. Thus the lever endl can be turned down with the extensionS and returned to its erect position by turning up the extension again.The remaining details of the modification may be similar to those of theconstruction shown'in Fig'.4. andV the like partsv are marked with thesaine referenee-lettersin both ligures.

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters- Patent is- This may. be to a tubular the upturned l.In a piano provided with a player, in l combination, a keyboard, a boardserving as hand-rest, located at the front of the keyboard on a leveltherewith and capable of being brought below and slid under it, andexpression and like levers which ter`- ininate at lsaid hand-rest board,their ends being ca )able of being brought before the, keyboar or belowthe same as desired,| substantially as described.

2. In'a piano provided with a player, in combination, a keyboard, aboard serving as a hand rest, located at the front of the keyboard andcapable of being turned down I for the purpose of being brought belowit, and expression levers which terminate at,

keyboard andsliding below v vsion yand like levers which terminate atand are carried by said 'hand-rest board, their -ends beingcapable ofbeing Ibrought before .the keyboard or bel admit of detachment` b`tially as described.

and are carried by said hand rest board their ends being capable ofbeing brough before the keyboard or below thesaine as desired,substantially as described.

3. In a piano provided with a player, in combination, a keyboard, aboard serving as hand-rest, located at the front of the it, and expreswthe same 'substantially' as des ribed.

In a piano provided withfa player, in combination, a keyboard, a boardserving as a hand rest, located at the front of we keyboard andcapableof being turnedNdo n and slid below it, land expression and likeleverswhich terminate at and are carried y said hand-rest board, theirends being capable of being brought before the key.- board or below thesaine .as desired, substantiallyasdescribed.

5. `In a piano provided with a player, in combination, a keyboard,aboard serving as 'a hand-rest, located at the front of the keyboard,and capable of being brought as desired,

rest board and having jointed extensions` which terminate Vat saldhandrest board, the ends of said extensions being capabley of beingbrought before the keyboard or turned back as desired, substan- 6. In apiano provided with combinatiom-a keyboard, a board serving ashand-rest, located at the frontA of the latter and capable of being brouht belowit, and telescoping expression and ike levers carried by said'hand-rest board and which terminate at said l1andres't board, their endsbeing capable of being brought before tbe keyboard-or below the same asdesired, substantially as described.

In. testimony whereof I al'x my signature presence of two witnesses.

L ROBERT FR(`)MSDORF.

Witnesses:

RUDOLPH FRICKE, SoU'rnARn P. WARNER.

a, player, in

below it, ezpres'sion' and like levers carried 'by the han

